


A Long Journey's End

by NiallWrites



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Kissing, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:47:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27497416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NiallWrites/pseuds/NiallWrites
Summary: After finishing his quest, Link finally returns to Ordon and reunites with the girl he's been fighting so hard to see again.
Relationships: Ilia/Link (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	A Long Journey's End

Ilia perked up as she heard the familiar clopping of hooves she'd been listening out for all day. She looked down the wooded pass, her face lighting up as she spotted Link and Epona finally appearing, the steed trotting up the path towards her. The girl felt relief wash over her; not only had the two returned, but Epona’s stride seemed steady and stable, silencing Ilia’s worries that she may have gotten injured on Link’s travels. As they approached, it seemed that Link too was unharmed, his posture strong and proud as he rode up to the girl. Ilia smiled softly as Epona slowed to a stop before her, allowing her to reach out and gently pet the horse’s forehead. Epona closed her eyes, letting out a quiet exhale through her nostrils as Ilia did so.

Ilia heard Link climbing off of Epona’s saddle, his hand joining Ilia’s on his steed’s head a moment later. “You’ve got no idea how glad I am you two made it back safe,” Ilia commented with a short, relieved sigh. She turned to face Link, though her smile faded as she noticed the boy’s face. His mouth showed a hint of a frown and his usually spirited blue eyes were downcast with a subtle sadness.

A look of concern came onto Ilia’s own face. She lowered her hand from Epona’s forehead as she took a step closer to him, “Is everything alright?” she asked, now lightly placing the hand on his cheek.

Link looked up to her, their eyes meeting. His mouth slowly formed a smile as he nodded with a quiet, affirmative hum. Ilia’s smile returned and even extended as Link placed his hand on hers once again. He took a gentle hold of it and brought it down, allowing him to interlock their fingers.

The two simply looked at one another for a moment, losing themselves in the calm softness of the other’s smiling face. Then, deciding to make a move, Link closed his eyes and leaned forward, his lips meeting hers in a deep and long-awaited, yet still tender kiss. Ilia felt Link’s free arm lock around her waist, responding by hooking her own arms around his neck.

Link had an immensely loving look in his eyes as their lips parted. He gently cupped a hand under her chin, rubbing a thumb over one of her warm cheeks. Without a single word exchanged at that moment, Ilia could tell undeniably that Link missed her just as much as she had missed him, if not even more. Instantly making that realisation, Ilia was quick to _attempt_ to engage in another kiss. However, it was quickly cut short when the two heard a familiarly loud…

“Heeeey!”

The lovers’ eyes opened wide as they looked up the path to see Fado sprinting up to them. “L-Link, oh thank the goddesses you’re back!” he panted, stopping to hunch over with exasperation in front of them, “I-it’s the goats, I just can’t get the darn things herded and-” the man cut himself off as he noticed the closeness between his farmhand and the girl, “Oh, s-sorry, was I interruptin’ somethin’?”

“Oh,” Ilia promptly parted from Link’s hold, feeling the heat in her face deepen as it set in that their little reunion had been discovered, “n-no, of course not, it’s no problem. Go on Link, you should go take care of that,” she told him with a sheepish smile.

Link tilted his head at the girl, giving her a questioning glance, as if to ask her if it was okay.

“Of course, yeah. What’s a few minutes more?” Ilia asked with a light chuckle.

Link gave a slight chuckle himself, nodding at her once more before climbing back onto Epona’s back. “See you!” Ilia called as the two headed off for the ranch.

Ilia smiled ear to ear as she watched them, her heart still overwhelmingly warm with relief that Link was home safe. Fado’s interruption had no chance of dimming her spirits after being able to see that for herself.

Besides, it was as she said, it was only a few minutes more now. Everything was over. Link and Ilia had all the time in the world to be together now…

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, thanks for reading! I replayed Twilight Princess for the first time in years recently and remembered just how much I loved it, so I decided to throw a short piece together for what I found to be a really heartwarming pair on my revisit to the game. Hope you enjoyed! :)


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